Rutgers Professor Charged With Illegally Owning Assault Weapon

EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ — A professor at Rutgers Robert Wood Jonson Medical School, who is also a well-respected melanoma expert, was arrested and charged in late March with illegally possessing an assault rifle.

Dr. James Goydos, 57, who lives in East Brunswick, was arrested March 30 at his home. He was charged with second-degree unlawful possession of a weapon, the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office confirmed to Patch.

Dr. Goydos is a professor of surgery at the Cancer Institute of New Jersey at Rutgers. He specializes in melanoma treatment.

He says the gun was a gift from his brother, given to him decades ago, and it was kept in a locked work area in his basement, according to MyCentralJersey.com.

According to a report in MyCentralJersey.com, the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office detective executed a search warrant at Goydos' home and allegedly found a Colt Sporter Match HBAR. The gun, classified as an assault rifle under New Jersey law, is a semi automatic and has a detachable magazine.

It was kept inside a bag in a work space in the basement of Dr. Goydo's home. The bag was kept locked in a shelf.

Goydos said the gun "belonged to his brother who gave it to him in the early 1990s," according to MyCentralJersey.com

Gun laws vary widely across the United States. New Jersey has very strict gun laws banning the ownership of most assault weapons, whether the owner has a license for them or not. That type of gun would be permitted in other states, but New Jersey is one of seven states with a strict ban on all guns classified as assault weapons. The other states with a similar assault-weapons ban are California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts and New York. But in Florida, for example, it's not only legal to own a gun like that; you don't even need a license or permit.

The Middlesex County prosecutor's office did not answer when asked how they were originally notified he allegedly had the gun.

Dr. Goydos has been paid leave pending the outcome of the charges, Rutgers told MyCentralJersey. According to his Rutgers biography, he is the Chief of Melanoma and Soft Tissue Oncology and was one of the original faculty members of the Cancer Institute of New Jersey. In 1995, Dr. Goydos built the first clinical program focused on the treatment of patients with melanoma, other advanced cancers of the skin, and soft tissue sarcomas in the state. The Rutgers melanoma treatment program is now one of the largest in the Northeastern United States, treating over 400 new patients with melanoma every year.

"He was placed on administrative leave following the charges," Pete McDonough, the vice president of external affairs at Rutgers, told MyCentralJersey. "He remains on administrative leave until the situation is resolved."

Photo of Dr. Goydos via https://www.cinj.org/james-goy...